2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix: Kanaan Wins After Dixon and Rice Crash

Tony Kanaan won the 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix for Andretti Green Racing on 2 September 2007, after a race that ended early with a crash between Scott Dixon and Dan Rice's car. Danica Patrick took second place, the best result of her career to that point, and Dan Wheldon finished third. The race was held at the Raceway at Belle Isle in Belle Isle Park, Michigan, as the 16th of the 17 IRL IndyCar Series races that year.

Who won the 2007 Detroit Indy Grand Prix?

Kanaan, who had started fourth, took his 12th IndyCar Series win and his fifth of the 2007 season. He earned 131,400 dollars for the victory. Patrick followed him home, and Wheldon finished third, with Darren Manning fourth and Kosuke Matsuura fifth.

Kanaan led only once in the race, but the lap he led was the one that counted. He took the front on the 72nd lap, when most of the field pitted during a caution, and he stayed in front for the rest of the race. He led 20 laps in total.

Franchitti finished sixth after a damaged car was restarted with help from safety marshals, and Dixon was classified eighth after his engine did not restart.

A fuel-starved car and a late crash handed Tony Kanaan a Belle Isle win and left Detroit with a record of its own.

Why was the race returning to Detroit?

The Detroit Indy Grand Prix had not been held since 2001, when the contract between the promoter International Management Group and Championship Auto Racing Teams expired. Attendance had been falling for several years before that. The race had been sanctioned by CART since 1989.

In September 2006 Roger Penske, the team owner, and Kwame Kilpatrick, the Detroit mayor, unveiled plans to bring the event back to the IRL IndyCar Series calendar for 2 September 2007. Penske led the effort, following the success of the 2005 MLB All-Star Game and Super Bowl XLI in the city.

What was the Belle Isle circuit like?

The Raceway at Belle Isle is a 14-turn street circuit 2.07 miles (3.33 km) long, set in Belle Isle Park. The race was originally planned for 90 laps and 186.3 miles (299.8 km), but the circuit had been altered slightly to give drivers more passing opportunities.

It was the last non-oval race of the 2007 season. The 18 cars entered used Honda Indy V8 engines, Firestone tyres and Dallara IR-05 chassis, so the field was closely matched on equipment.

What was the championship picture before the race?

Scott Dixon led the Drivers' Championship with 560 points going into Detroit, four ahead of Dario Franchitti in second. Tony Kanaan trailed Dixon by 62 points, while Dan Wheldon and Sam Hornish Jr. were fourth and fifth with 414 and 409 points.

The previous round, the Motorola Indy 300 at Infineon Raceway, had caused friction between the Andretti Green teammates Franchitti and Marco Andretti. Andretti had accelerated out of pit road when Franchitti hit the back of his car, and Franchitti opted not to repair his damaged front wing, which slowed him enough for Dixon to pass him.

Helio Castroneves had won the last two CART races held in Detroit, and he took part in an IRL compatibility test at Belle Isle on 24 July. He was pleased with the changes to the circuit and predicted that the race would be an exciting one to watch.

How did practice go?

Three practice sessions came before the race on Sunday. The first, on Friday morning, lasted 120 minutes, while the second on Friday afternoon and the third on Saturday morning each lasted 60 minutes. For the last two sessions the 18 drivers ran in two groups, and each group had 30 minutes on track.

Franchitti set the quickest time of the first session at 1 minute, 13.3447 seconds, ahead of Castroneves, Kanaan, Dixon and Hornish Jr. The start of that session was delayed by seven minutes for track repairs, and it was stopped three times for incidents. Dixon hit the tyre barrier in turn three ten minutes in, though he drove away without stalling.

In the second session Castroneves set the fastest overall time of the day at 1 minute, 13.3130 seconds. The third session was topped by Dixon at 1 minute, 12.4039 seconds, with Castroneves, Kanaan, Franchitti and Andretti next.

How did qualifying set the grid?

Qualifying was held on Saturday, two hours after the third practice finished. Each driver had one timed lap in the first round, and the six fastest moved to the Firestone Fast Six, which gave them ten minutes for their final laps.

Castroneves took pole with a time of 1 minute, 12.0688 seconds. It was his 23rd career pole in the series and his seventh of the season, breaking a record Billy Boat had set in 1998 for the most poles in one season. Franchitti was second, 0.0742 seconds slower, with Dixon third, Kanaan fourth and Ryan Hunter-Reay fifth.

The rest of the top ten was made up of Andretti, Hornish Jr., Darren Manning, Tomas Scheckter and Vitor Meira. Danica Patrick, Ed Carpenter, A. J. Foyt IV, Kosuke Matsuura, Buddy Rice, Dan Wheldon, Scott Sharp and Sarah Fisher completed the grid.

Castroneves said he credited his team for the speed and was looking forward to the race. The warm-up session that morning was topped by Castroneves at 1 minute, 13.5251 seconds, ahead of Dixon, Franchitti, Kanaan and Scheckter.

What happened early in the race?

It was the first race in the city since 2001, and the start came in bright, warm weather. Live coverage ran on ABC from 3:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time. Johnny Rutherford led the field out in the pace car, and the green flag was waved by Joe Dumars, president of the Detroit Pistons.

The air was 26 to 27 degrees Celsius (78 to 81 degrees Fahrenheit) and the track 37 to 48 degrees Celsius (98 to 118 degrees Fahrenheit). Castroneves kept the lead on the first lap, with Kanaan passing Dixon for third and Andretti hitting the barrier at turn six. Castroneves extended his advantage over Franchitti to 1.3 seconds before he was lapped by Sarah Fisher on lap 13.

The first round of green-flag pit stops came on lap 21, and Franchitti, Kanaan, Dixon and Hornish Jr. were the first to stop. Hunter-Reay failed to exit his pit stall after a broken drive shaft three laps later, and Castroneves, Andretti and Scheckter pitted on lap 26, handing the lead to Franchitti.

How did the cautions shape the middle of the race?

The first caution came two laps after the pit cycle, when Ed Carpenter skidded off course in turn eight. Andretti retired under the yellow with a faulty gearbox. On the restart Fisher turned down into Hornish Jr., and Darren Manning clipped the rear of Patrick's car, bringing Vitor Meira into the crash and causing the second caution.

Franchitti held a lead as large as 1.4 seconds over Kanaan before the third caution, on lap 48, when Patrick spun Scott Sharp into the tyre barrier in the eighth corner. Most of the leaders pitted under caution. The fourth caution came on the 56th lap when Carpenter spun in turn 13, and Patrick stayed out and assumed the lead.

Franchitti moved into second on the 64th lap as Wheldon pitted, and two laps later Patrick stopped, which let Franchitti reclaim the lead. On lap 68 Castroneves made contact with Scheckter, and the pair hit the barrier at turn one, which produced the fifth caution.

Why did the race end in a crash?

Kanaan took the lead for the restart on the 72nd lap and was ahead of Rice, Dixon, Patrick and A. J. Foyt IV. Franchitti improved from sixth to fourth by lap 73. On lap 80 IRL officials announced that the race would end when it reached the series' two-hour, ten-minute time limit.

Rice stayed within a second of Kanaan until his car ran out of fuel in turn 13 on lap 88. Dixon tried to pass Rice on his right, collided with him and sent Rice into the tyre barrier. Dixon backed into a wall, blocking Franchitti, who hit the right side of Dixon's car. That crash brought out the sixth and final caution.

Patrick avoided the wreck and finished second. Wheldon was third, Manning and Matsuura completed the top five, and Franchitti was sixth after his car was restarted with the help of safety marshals. Dixon was classified eighth because his engine would not refire.

What was the race's attrition and scoring?

Nine of the 18 starters retired, which made for a high attrition rate on a demanding street course. There were five lead changes among five different drivers. Franchitti led a race-high 27 laps, while Kanaan led 20 laps in total.

The championship picture changed after the race. Franchitti moved back into the lead with 587 points, three ahead of Dixon, and Kanaan trailed Franchitti by 39 points as the only other driver still in the title hunt. Wheldon, on 449 points, extended his advantage over Hornish Jr. to 22 points for fourth.

How did the post-race disputes unfold?

Michael Andretti accused Dixon of wrecking Franchitti on purpose, arguing that Dixon had let off the brake to take Franchitti out. Kanaan initially agreed with that view, but after looking at a replay he recanted and apologised to Dixon. The dispute dominated the paddock conversation after the race.

Franchitti dismissed the accusation, saying Dixon had raced him cleanly all season and that he did not believe Dixon would have done it intentionally. Dixon insisted he had no control of the car and would not have tried the pass had Rice not run out of fuel. Rice apologised to Chip Ganassi, to Mike Hull and to Franchitti after the race, and he said he regretted the damage to the championship fight.

The incident also led to an argument on pit road between Andretti Green co-owner Kevin Savoree and Chip Ganassi.

What did the winners and drivers say?

Kanaan said he had to save fuel because the team had not put much in the car, and that the luck had been on his side when another caution came out. He admitted to criticism for his driving the week before at Infineon, and he believed the win came from positive karma after he had helped his teammate.

Patrick described a fun-filled day and thanked her team for the pit strategy that put the car in the right place at the right time. Wheldon praised Roger Penske for bringing the race back and called it entertaining from the fans' point of view.